Rut 2:2

2:2 One day Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go ¹  to the fields so I can gather ²  grain behind whoever permits me to do so.” ³  Naomi ⁴  replied, “You may go, my daughter.”

Rut 2:19

2:19 Her mother-in-law asked her, ⁵  “Where did you gather grain today? Where did you work? May the one who took notice of you be rewarded!” ⁶  So Ruth ⁷  told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked. She said, “The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz.”

Rut 3:10

3:10 He said, “May you be rewarded ⁸  by the Lord, my dear! ⁹  This act of devotion ¹⁰  is greater than what you did before. ¹¹  For you have not sought to marry ¹²  one of the young men, whether rich or poor. ¹³ 

[2:2]  ¹ tn The cohortative here (“Let me go”) expresses Ruth’s request. Note Naomi’s response, in which she gives Ruth permission to go to the field.

[2:2]  ² tn Following the preceding cohortative, the cohortative with vav conjunctive indicates purpose/result.

[2:2]  ³ tn Heb “anyone in whose eyes I may find favor” (ASV, NIV similar). The expression אֶמְצָא־חֵן בְּעֵינָיו (’emtsa’-khen bÿ’enayv, “to find favor in the eyes of [someone]”) appears in Ruth 2:2, 10, 13. It is most often used when a subordinate or servant requests permission for something from a superior (BDB 336 s.v. חֵן). Ruth will play the role of the subordinate servant, seeking permission from a landowner, who then could show benevolence by granting her request to glean in his field behind the harvest workers.

[2:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “she”; the referent (Naomi) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:19]  ⁵ tn Heb “said to her.” Since what follows is a question, the translation uses “asked her” here.

[2:19]  ⁶ tn Or “blessed” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV). The same expression occurs in the following verse.

[2:19]  ⁷ tn Heb “she”; the referent (Ruth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:10]  ⁸ tn Or “blessed” (so NASB, NRSV).

[3:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “my daughter.” This form of address is a mild form of endearment, perhaps merely rhetorical. A few English versions omit it entirely (e.g., TEV, CEV). The same expression occurs in v. 11.

[3:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “latter [act of] devotion”; NRSV “this last instance of your loyalty.”

[3:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “you have made the latter act of devotion better than the former”; NIV “than that which you showed earlier.”

[3:10]  sn Greater than what you did before. Ruth’s former act of devotion was her decision to remain and help Naomi. The latter act of devotion is her decision to marry Boaz to provide a child to carry on her deceased husband’s (and Elimelech’s) line and to provide for Naomi in her old age (see Ruth 4:5, 10, 15).

[3:10]  ¹² tn Heb “by not going after the young men” (NASB similar); TEV “You might have gone looking for a young man.”

[3:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “whether poor or rich” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); the more common English idiom reverses the order (“rich or poor”; cf. NIV, NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT).

[3:10]  sn Whether rich or poor. This statement seems to indicate that Ruth could have married anyone. However, only by marrying a גֹּאֵל (go’el, “family guardian”; traditionally “redeemer”) could she carry on her dead husband’s line and make provision for Naomi.